Point of Law, formerly owned by King Charles, wins 2026 Melbourne Cup at Flemington
Point of Law, the three-year-old stallion formerly owned by King Charles, won the 2026 Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday, ridden by jockey Ethan Brown and trained by Ciaron Maher.
The Ciaron Maher-trained runner justified favouritism in the $10m feature after chasing down stablemate Royal Supremacy, which had led by about 20 lengths at one point. Maher ran a record seven horses in the race and produced a trifecta, with Zahrann second and Juja Kibo third; the Joseph O’Brien-trained Sons and Lovers finished fourth.
Point of Law had been bought by an Australian syndicate from King Charles in August after winning the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket in July and moved to the top of the betting following a strong showing in the Geelong Cup. Brown guided the three-year-old to victory in a finish described in reports as thrilling, closing on Royal Supremacy late in the contest.
“I knew I had my best hand going into it, but we just had to execute,” Maher told Nine. “I certainly didn’t know that Royal Supremacy would lead by that far, but it is a true test of staying and, Point of Law, he’s just thrived. “It has been a whirlwind but I’m very proud of all the team to get three horses in the first three spots.” It is the second time Maher has overseen a winner in the “race that stops the nation.”
Brown spoke about the victory and the horse immediately afterwards: “He’s going to be a superstar. Stunning horse this,” Brown told Channel Nine after his victory, adding that winning the Melbourne Cup was a dream come true. “Please don’t wake me up,” he said. “It’s every jockey’s dream to do this. And I can’t believe it. I was confident in the horse. Everyone I’ve spoken to said they’ve never gone in with that confidence. “He’s in such good hands with Ciaron. He had the best turn of foot in the race. I thought he ran really well and he’s going to be a future star if he’s not already one today.”
Brown also reflected on his return from a serious fall: “There was something burning inside me,” Brown said. “I was inches from losing my life, but a bit of time off and I realised I wasn’t any good at anything else. There was a slow burn inside of me [to come back].” He had spent six months out of the saddle after the 2023 Australian Guineas fall at Flemington that left him in hospital.
Ahead of the race, pop star Robbie Williams performed and urged the crowd to “let me entertain you,” and 23 of the expected 24 runners paraded through the mounting yard. Earlier on race day, trainer Chris Waller was fined $50,000 after his contender Asterix was scratched when it was found to have received Penetrene on race-day, despite the liniment being generally allowed outside the blanket ban on race-day treatments.
Waller said of the incident: “The horse gets the same treatment every day,” Waller said. “It’s a very basic liniment most stables use and I guess the pressure of race day, the person that looks after the horse, put it on his legs right in front of the security guard, nothing to hide. “It’s not her fault, I’ve got to wear the responsibility, it’s my team. It’s rare for us to make mistakes but the pressure of race day, you can’t explain how it affects everybody, everyone is on edge on Melbourne Cup Day and you think a little bit differently.” Asterix, part-owned by former New Zealand cricketer Mark Greatbatch, was withdrawn and Waller was left with one runner, Soul of Spain, who finished 13th.